Understanding the Relationship between Socio-Economic Status, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour, and Adiposity in Young Adult South African Women Using Structural Equation Modelling

Lisa K. Micklesfield, Richard J. Munthali, Alessandra Prioreschi, Rihlat Said-Mohamed, Alastair Van Heerden, Stephen Tollman, Kathleen Kahn, David Dunger and Shane A. Norris
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Lisa K. Micklesfield: MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Richard J. Munthali: MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Alessandra Prioreschi: MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Rihlat Said-Mohamed: MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Alastair Van Heerden: MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Stephen Tollman: MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Kathleen Kahn: MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
David Dunger: Department of Paediatrics, University of Cambridge and Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
Shane A. Norris: MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Socio-economic status (SES) is an important predictor of obesity, but how it is associated with differences in physical activity and sedentary behaviour is less clear. This cross-sectional study examined the association between SES (sum of household assets), physical activity and sedentary time, and how they predict adiposity. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, and physical activity data on rural ( n = 509) and urban ( n = 510) South African women (18–23 years) were collected. Overweight and obesity prevalence, and sedentary time, were higher; and moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) was lower, in the urban sample. Structural equation models (SEMs) were constructed for BMI and waist circumference. In the urban sample SES had a direct inverse effect on MVPA (ß; 95% CI, ?41.69; ?73.40 to ?9.98), while in the rural sample SES had a direct effect on BMI (ß; 95% CI, 0.306; 0.03 to 0.59). In the pooled sample, SES had a direct inverse effect on MVPA (ß; 95% CI, ?144; ?170.34 to ?119.04), and MVPA was directly associated with BMI (ß; 95% CI, 0.04; 0.01 to 0.08). The influence of SES, and the role of physical activity and sedentary time on adiposity differs between the urban and rural samples, and the importance of other environmental and behavioural factors must be considered in the development of obesity and the design of effective interventions.

Keywords: socio-economic status; urban; rural; physical activity; South Africa; sedentary; body mass index; waist circumference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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